Window coverings are old and well known in the art. Window coverings come in countless sizes, shapes and designs. They are used for utilitarian purposes, such as limiting the amount of light that enters a room as well as controlling the amount of heat that enters through a window. Window coverings also serve aesthetic purposes, such as improving the ambiance or décor of a room.
One popular form of window coverings are known as, and referred to herein as “blinds”. Blinds are generally formed of a header (or head rail) positioned at their top end that has shade material that hangs downward therefrom. This shade material is generally formed of a plurality of slats that hang from the header, either in a vertical orientation (known as vertical blinds) or in horizontal orientation (known as horizontal blinds, venetian blinds, mini blinds, plantation shades, shutter blinds, among countless other names).
Conventional horizontal blinds are manually operated in two ways. First, the amount of slats that are vertically deployed from the header is adjusted by adjusting the length of one or more suspension cords. Second, the angle of the slats is adjusted by rotating or twisting a tilt rod, wand or baton or other tilting mechanism.
Conventional vertical blinds are also manually operated in two ways. First, the amount slats that are vertically deployed from the header is adjusted by grasping a tilt rod, wand or baton or other mechanism and sliding the slats to the desired position. Second, the angle of the slats is adjusted by rotating or twisting the tilt rod, wand or baton or other tilting mechanism.
While these processes are effective at adjusting the blinds they are inefficient and time consuming as the user must take time away from other tasks and expend energy to manually adjust the blinds. This manual process is especially inconvenient and undesirable in locations that have a plurality of blinds.
In response to the deficiencies of manual window coverings, various manufacturers have developed motorized window coverings. While motorized window coverings eliminate the need to manually adjust the window coverings, they suffer from a great number of other deficiencies.
That is, motorized window coverings tend to be extremely expensive and therefore are financially out of reach for most consumers. In addition, installing motorized window coverings can be a very complicated and time consuming task that requires removal of the existing window coverings and replacement with the new motorized window coverings, not to mention the need to use various tools like drills, screw drivers, levels and the like. This process can be further complicated and made much more expensive if hardwired electricity is needed to power the new motorized window coverings. In addition, replacing perfectly functioning manual window coverings is often undesirable for many consumers as it is seen as wasteful to replace perfectly functional window coverings.
To eliminate the need to replace existing window coverings various products have been developed to motorize manual window coverings. One such product is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,371 entitled “Electronic Power Angling Rod For A Window Blind” filed on Jun. 5, 1995 by inventor Richard D. Gregg. The product of the '371 patent is an aftermarket add-on to existing horizontal blinds that attempts to provide a means of converting manual horizontal blinds to motorized horizontal blinds by replacing the manual tilt rod with a motorized tilt rod. While the product of the '371 patent may provide some advantages, it suffers from many apparent disadvantages. Namely, the product of the '371 patent is inconvenient and complicated to install on existing horizontal blinds. In addition, the product of the '371 patent is connected to the horizontal blind using a rigid clip or brace which does not provide the needed variability to install on the great variety of horizontal blinds available on the market. In addition, the product of the '371 patent does not provide programming and set-up procedures that take into account for the variability or slack in the tilting mechanisms commonly found in blinds today. Because the product in the '371 patent does not have a solution for the slack or backlash in tilting mechanisms in conventional blinds, this product cannot be programmed for discrete and repeatable tilt positions which is a feature that is important to the consumer particularly when multiple shades are installed in close proximity to each other. Nor does the product of the '371 patent provide the control features desired by today's consumer such as grouping and intermediate settings. As such, the product of the '371 patent is not an adequate solution.
Therefore, for the reasons stated above, and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the specification, there is a need in the art for an improved device, manner and means of converting a manual window covering to a motorized window covering.
Thus, it is a primary object of the invention to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that improves upon the state of the art.
Another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that eliminates the need to replace perfectly functioning manual window coverings.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that eliminates the need to install new window coverings to have the advantages of motorized control.
Another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that includes a twist function or manual override.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that is easy to install.
Another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that allows for programming of positions.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that can be installed on both horizontal and vertical blinds.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that can be used with a great variety of head rails of various blinds.
Another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that provides improved control and functionality.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an aftermarket remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that saves the user time when adjusting blinds.
Another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that is inexpensive and certainly less expensive than purchasing new motorized window coverings.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that allows for control of a plurality of window coverings simultaneously.
Another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that can be controlled by a twist or a wireless signal.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that allows for a plurality of window coverings to be grouped together such that they respond simultaneously to a single command.
Another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that automatically responds to light variance.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that automatically responds to temperature variance.
Another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that has improved battery life.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that accurately tracks and can respond in like fashion to other blinds the in the proximity of the wand.
Another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that is repeatable over time and between window coverings.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that has a long useful life.
Another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that has a simple and elegant design.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that is customizable.
Another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that utilizes standard batteries.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that can be purchased as an off-the-shelf product.
Another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that allows for easy battery replacement.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that is durable.
Another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that maintains the look and feel of a conventional tilt wand while providing additional features.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a remote controlled motorized wand for controlling blinds that can be used for controlling horizontal and vertical blinds.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method of operating a motorized window covering that provides quiet operation.
These and other objects, features, or advantages of the invention will become apparent from the specification and claims.